Geographic information system for monitoring metal concentrations in environmental waters

University of Eastern Finland

Real-time water quality information is beneficial for effective management of environmental waters under different conditions. Field-operative and affordable techniques/devices are fostering the interest of the citizens in the conditions of their environment supporting the actions related to community-based monitoring. On the other hand, these approaches can also support industrial setups to prevent disturbances in water related processes and ensure compliance with environmental regulations. Many water quality parameters, such as heavy metal concentrations, are typically analysed in laboratories creating long delays in getting access to these results. On the other hand, real-time water quality data that is available, such as pH, EC, redox, are often located in separate data storages. Unavailability of real-time data and scattering of the existing data prevents citizens, authorities, and industrial operators on creating a comprehensive view on their water qualities.

University of Eastern Finland has developed an on-site/real-time monitoring system of metal concentrations in environmental waters. The system is easy to use and field-ready as it is fully battery-operated. The system is capable of transferring metal analysis data with geographic information to a cloud database. This information can be combined with data from other analytical IoT devices (pH, EC, redox) creating comprehensive data set for improved environmental water management and modelling.

The aim of the project is to build a prototype database capable of collecting metal concentration information from above mentioned on-site monitoring system with information obtained from conventional water quality analysis devices with IoT interface. This data is combined with geographic information in the database. The database is piloted in real environment to prove the benefits of it for water management operations. Alternatively, the applicant may also suggest his or her own topics for the thesis work according to personal research interest.

 

The student will work as a member in a group of scientists developing systems for on-site water monitoring. We are also collaborating with local companies working in this area.

We are looking for a candidate that has background in information technology and data science. Alternatively, the candidate should have experience in developing adsorbents to collect dissolved metals from aqueous solutions. Previous experience in water quality monitoring and spectroscopic (XRF) methods is appreciated.

3AWater Oy

Department of Technical Physics, UEF

Professor Vesa-Pekka Lehto

PhD Sidra Iftekhar

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PhD Joakim Riikonen